2013.10.05 - Allez Cuisine!
Whether via phone, email, or face to face visits, word spread amongst the tri-state's bow-wielding vigilante crew that dinner was on at Ollie's place--his new place, a brownstone near the up and coming DoWiSeTrePla neighborhood of Brooklyn. Regardless of how the message was conveyed, two points were made clear: 1.) Ollie has everything under control. 2.) Dinner was going to be spicy. When dinner time comes 'round, Ollie is in the brownstone's yard, standing over a stove stationed against the side of the building and turning a paddle around a bubbling pot of chili. An apron with a colourful Scoville chart printed up its front is tied over his khaki shorts and green polo, but the lower 3/4ths of the scale seem to have been blacked out with a Sharpie. A pair of coolers are parked a couple feet away from the stove; one is packed with water and soft drinks, the other with beer and more beer, and a ways behind him, a picnic table draped with a simple white tablecloth has been set up, complete with bowls and spoons. Out front, a sign with a picture of an arrow - a broadhead - points towards the narrow alley between Ollie's house and his neighbor(s)' to guide the Family to the table; it's just a short walk through the alley to reach the gate to the yard. Let's be honest, it probably took a lot of convincing on Kate's part to get Clint here. He's gone practically full hermit in the past few months- even his former teammates rarely see him. There's supposed to be chili, though. Clint loves spicy food (okay, /all/ food) and you know what they say about getting to a man's heart. Not that he's implying that Kate is trying to- look, that came out wrong. "Are you sure this is okay?" he asks Kate for probably the seventh or eighth time as they approach the brownstone. He's got Arrow's leash hanging from his elbow while his arms huddle protectively around a box. It's a cake, made by the nice old lady downstairs from him. They have this deal: she supplies him with baked goods, he takes out her trash and carries her groceries up the stairs for her. And Clint knows no better way than to ingratiate himself into a social group than with cake. All that spy training clearly paid off. And when Ollie says that 'Dinner is going to be spicy' Green Lanterns loose all their willpower, Batman has to use /multiple/ things from his utility belt, Superman has to use his freeze breath, The Flash is forced to slow down, and Wonder Woman actually blinks, right? Errrr.... *COUGH* Maybe not. But anyways.... /ANYWAYS/... "Yes, it's okay." is said as Kate glances at Clint, and odd partial, but cryptic smile starting to form. "Trust me. If worse comes to worse, they'll have you spar with Lian's babysitter if she's there..." And did the girl in purple come empty handed? Nope! She just sort of had to have her thing delivered ahead of time. After all, she /isn't/ 21, thus she shouldn't of been able to buy it, but odds are those who are over 21 might enjoy some Authentic Trappist Beer. Or they should considering how much Kate had to shell out for just a couple of six packs of it. Why the HELL did she agree to this? Oh, right. Because HAL insisted. Helena looks up at the sign pointing the way toward this dinner gathering and can't help but frown to herself. She had to ask for time off from Dinah's florist shop, and she's done that WAY too much lately as it is. And why? Because Babs wanted her to go talk with 'some like-minded people'. Pfeh. Archery talk gets as boring as everything else after a while. Of course, the stupid train up from Gotham running late didn't help matters any. Squaring her shoulders, she resettles the canvas shopping bag hanging from one arm and steps in to see the layout of the dinner party. The message from Oracle had said something about spicy food, so she came prepared, having taken the time to actually fix dairy-based desserts from scratch and pack a large steel water bottle for herself with milk. However, she was NOT prepared to see quite this many familiar faces. Including.... SHIT. Barton. She freezes in the entryway, looking ready to turn around and leave again. Arriving punctually at 15 minutes late, Lian Harper scampers up, apparently just in time for another late-arriving woman to be there in front of them. "Oh hi," Lian greets, waving to Helena. "Are you grampa's 'lady friend'?" She says this in a suspicious tone, having apparently spent too much time being introduced to Roy's 'lady friends', apparently. Peering around Helena, Lian squeals as she sees Kate. "Katteeee!" she shrieks, dashing up to... zip past her and then tackle the dog. "You got a dog!" Meanwhile, Roy is walking up the street, someone in tow. "C'mon, don't look so weird. It's just a family gathering, and well... better to get this all done with so you don't have to meet everyone one by one! Trust me, it's a good idea." Unsure as to what to bring, Connor picked up some bread and cheese to share with the others. He's trying not to look too nervous, but he obviously isn't succeeding. "Are you sure? I mean...wouldn't it be better to do more in private?" Dressed simply in a t-shirt and jeans, he's also wearing sandals with bare feet. It's still kind of summer, after all. "You're sure it's ok even with your daughter here? She's really cute, by the way..." as he's had the entire ride over to chat with the young girl. When they arrive, he does recognize almost everyone gathered and he offers a nod and a nervous smile to them. "Hullo." He tries not to stare at Oliver though. As guests begin arriving, Ollie trades the paddle for a plastic spoon, gives the chili a taste, then grits his teeth and grimaces for several moments, fanning his free hand frantically in front of his face. Shortly after recovering, he grabs latex gloves from a nearby box, turns to a cutting board with a still-intact ghost pepper - as well as seeds and other juicy remnants from several of its cousins - and works on giving it a quick mince. "C'mon in!" he hollers to the first two to arrive without looking up. "Cornbread's just about done." He cants his head towards the barbecue pit on the other side of the stove. "And so's the main event." After a final chop, he scrapes the whole pulpy mess into the searing brew, then pulls the gloves off and tosses them into the trash so that he can greet the Hawkeyes face to face. By the time Roy, Lian and Connor arrive, the steaming chili pot has been moved to the center of the table, where it sits next to a large cast iron skillet of cornbread. The coolers were dragged over for easier access, and small ramicans with all manner of condiments are spread across the table too. "There they are," he calls, holding a hand up to greet the three from his spot at the head of the table. He stands, too, but he doesn't make any move to meet them. "On time as always." His eyes flick to Connor, who he studies for a long moment before retaking his seat and beckoning for them all to come to the table. Arrow is leading the Hawkeyes over, and he pauses within a few feet of Ollie and the chili to lift his nose and sniff. Then he sneezes. Clint exchanges a worried glance with Kate. This is gonna be some spicy chili, isn't it? He manages an awkward-sounding "Thanks for letting me come," to Ollie before scampering off. Mostly he's hoping no one thinks he's here as Kate's date. Did he dress too nice? Because a non-stained t-shirt and hole-free jeans are "nice" for Clint. He's not her date! The cake is deposited on the table so Clint can loose Arrow from his leash and fetch himself a beer, because he desperately needs one. And a distinctly NON-alcoholic drink for Kate, too. He's just popped open the bottle when some sort of small terrifying creature comes running into the yard, but when it tackles his dog, the one-eyed golden retriever just wags his tail and gets dog slobber all over Lian's face. Before he squirms out of her delighted grip to go greet another familiar face. "Rebecca?" Clint asks, looking incredibly confused. And as Lian rushes up towards Arrow, Kate tries to sidestep the little girl. And yet, as she watches the two of them 'play' the socialite can't help but grin ever so slightly. "He's not mine Lian." is all but shouted, as Kate holds back a slight chuckle, before she jerks a thumb at Clint. "He's a friends." All though as Ollie motions for them to come to the table, she does glance at Roy for a moment. Then at Connor. Then at Clint as he reacts to Helena, who she blinks at. "Come on Lian, let's go get a seat. I have a hunch things are gonna be interesting tonight..." Helena Bertinelli visibly startles when the little girl very loudly passes by her and accosts Arrow, and looks ready to turn tail and flee when Clint's voice rings out past everyone else. And calls her Rebecca. Her eyes close for a second. It's official. The Bat owes her BIGTIME for this. Like, buying her a new fake identity big so she can go crawl under a rock somewhere and hide. Boulder's supposed to be nice this time of year. Opening her eyes again, 'Rebecca' takes a breath and tries to offer a smile as she steps closer to the Table of Firey Doom Chili. "Uh, hi." Now Roy darts a look at Helena curiously, tilting his head. "Rebecca?" He'd have sworn he met her somewhere before, at an archery range or something. But he could very well be mistaken. As Ollie says nothing, Roy says brightly, "Hey old man. Uh... brought someone to meet you today. I... well... Connor Hawke, this is Oliver Jonas Queen. Um... I'll just... let you two talk for a minute, I see Lian's... whose dog -is- that? Great, now Lian's going to want one." Lian, of course, -is- chasing after Arrow, now, squealing, and accosting Kate with a "Oh, is he your ... -guy friend-?" with the same suspicious tone, before following the older girl obediently towards a seat. Connor Hawke clears his throat as he offers over the bag of bread and fancy cheese, "Thank you for having me, sir," is offered politely to Oliver. "I hope you don't mind...Roy brought me along." He's going to stop there before he just blurts things out. "It smells...very spicy." There's another glance given to Roy as if silently asking 'Are you sure about this?'. He turns his head quickly as Helena is addressed by another name but he doesn't make any sort of correction. Looking back to Roy, he then steps over to Oliver and holds out a hand, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, sir. I've heard...many great things about you." "Any time, any time," Ollie says to Clint, even as he peers bemusedly between he and Helena. "Glad you could make it too--Rebecca; figured you deserved a night off, as hard as you work down at the flower shop." After squinting at the Italian for a moment, he shrugs a shoulder and fetches a couple of beers; one is set on the table in front of Helena, and the other is held out towards Connor like a cold-filtered handshake as he approaches the young man. "Ollie," he corrects, side-eyeing Roy as he does so. "My friends call me Ollie, and if you're a friend'a Roy's..." Rather than finish the statement, he gives Connor's shoulder a firm, friendly smack while trying to nudge the bottle into the monk's hand. "Plenty to eat--and don't worry about the spice," he assures, winking. "I tasted it myself while everyone was gettin' in; it's just right." There's a moment where Clint just looks at Rebecca, frowning faintly. "I didn't know you were friends with- uh. Funny meeting you here, I mean, is all." He clears his throat and then scurries away to join Kate at the table, sitting next to her. The side that isn't taken by Lian, obviously. "Oh god this is awkward," he says, voice muted, briefly covering his face with one hand until he feels Arrow's head resting on his knee. Mostly to lick the condensation off his beer bottle, but Clint pretends it's to be consoling. "He's as much my guy friend as he is your dads." Yes, Kate said that. Without thinking really. To Lian. And yet as it sinks in that she said that, she all but facepalms as she takes a seat at the table. "I mean no he's not. He's someone I know who is probably as good with a bow as Ollie is." And yet as Clint comes back over, the teenager does sort of glance at Connor and Ollie, while trying /not/ to look at Roy for the moment, just in case he heard what she just said. Then again with how Helena and Clint are sort of squirming, or at least with how he reacts, on top of the Connor and Ollie stuff, it isn't that hard to be distracted. "I...thank you, sir. Uh, Ollie." Connor catches himself but does take the beer. He looks at it for a moment before setting it down on the table, "Thank you, but I don't drink. I'll just have some water if that's all right." Noting what Kate says about Clint...and knowing what he does about some of the others, he asks, "Are we all archers then?" 'Rebecca' looks just as discombobulated by seeing Clint here as he does seeing her here. "Uh, yeah. I, um, yeah, kinda funny..." and then he's fleeing to sit next to Kate. Who is the only other female here. ...okay SERIOUSLY awkward now. That girl looks easily high school age. Are she and Clint? GAH. Stop thinking, H. You KNEW that doing that fool's errand for the Bat was gonna cause problems, and you made it worse for yourself. Suck it up and get over it. Shaking her head slightly to clear those self-destructive thoughts, Helena tries to offer Ollie a smile as she steps over to put her dessert offerings next to the others already there. Tiramisu and cannolis. Yes, very much italian, but also very clearly home made. The tiramisu is a little .... lopsided and the cannolis aren't consistent in size. Please just let them taste okay. Lian looks puzzled as she tries to sort out her dad having a 'guy friend' (and no, Roy wasn't about to explain the complexities of human relationships) before Kate's belated explanation clears that up for her and she looks at Clint with a curious glance. "Oh. Better than Daddy?" she asks, before looking at her father with a curious look. Roy gives Connor a shrug, motions to Ollie, and mouths, 'tell him', as he takes the beer that Connor had put aside. Going to fish out sodas, Roy calls out, "So, old man... who's your new lady friend?" "No?" Ollie sounds as though Connor just told him he's never seen the sunset, or something, and it takes a measure of self-control to keep his expression from betraying too much in the way of disbelief. "Well, lucky for you--" He reaches into the other cooler and fetches a bottle of Arrowhead. "--we've got plenty'a that, too; just make sure the bottles end up in the recyclin' bin." As he presses this bottle into Connor's hand, he adds, "I dabble," with a grin. "Roy, too. Way I hear it, Ms. Bishop over there over there--" He tips his head towards Kate. "--isn't half bad herself; small world, eh?" He crouches to fetch a beer for himself as Roy mouths stuff to Connor, and comes up peering at his former ward. "My lady friend?" He glances around, then settles on Helena, looking even more confused. "Y' don't mean--" His eyes flick back to Roy, and with a slight headshake he ruefully mutters, "They're keepin' me too tied up with meetings t' get tied up with much of anything - or anyone - else, these days." With that, he moves away from the pair to stand beside his folding chair, and with a smile and a raised bottle, he says, "All of you - friends, family, people I just met a minute ago - I wanna thank you for coming here and breaking bread today; it's a hell of a world out there, but knowin' you aren't alone in it--it's a gift. Cheers--" He throws back a sip of beer, then takes his seat and spreads his hands. "And now--let's eat, before it gets cold." This is a dilemma. On the one hand: awkwardness of having someone you used to date show up. On the other: cannolis, man. Cannolis. Clint swallows his grimace with a mouthful of beer, then leans forward to look at Lian. "I, uh. I'm pretty good. Y'know. As a hobbyist." Nope definitely not an ex-Avenger here or anything! Because that would just be silly. He goes quiet as Ollie says his piece, and then raises his bottle. "Cheers," he says, and Arrow gives a woof of agreement. There's a slight grin at Lian, as if to try and answer her without actually giving anything away. That is before she... Shrugs? "You'll have to ask your daddy that. Or better yet, you should see if you can convince him and Mr. Barton to have a 'shoot off'." Now it's probably a good thing, a /VERY/ good thing that the teenager can't read Helenas thoughts. Besides... Canolis.... As for Connor and Ollie? She's still trying to stay out of that. But if worse comes to worse, she may have to pull in movie quotes... Helena Bertinelli hastily finds a place to sit, perhaps conveniently out of direct line of sight from Clint, and tries to not look COMPLETELY out of place amongst all of these other people who seem to know each other fairly well. Ollie's just that guy, you know, the one that stops by the flower shop regularly. And Connor's just the kid that took over her hours for a few weeks there. And ... oh god. NOW she recognizes the girl. She and the guy that came in with the little kid, they were both in that archery range when she asked about the unusual green hand-fletched arrow. Would anyone notice if she thunked her head down on the table over here? "Okay, Kate," Lian replies, as she turns her attention towards her father, reaching out to tug her father. "Daddy, will you..." "Have a coke, Lian," Roy comments, as he hands his daughter a can. "Ooo, thank you, Daddy!" And Lian is momentarily distracted by sugary bubbly goodness while Roy gives Ollie a look. There, now to not answer questions about lady friends. Another look at Ollie at the lines about friends, family, and 'people they'd only just met.' "Oh trust me, I think everyone here is friends -and- family," Roy replies as he toasts. "Lian, you might want to get some milk, this stuff is -hot-," he calls out, before his attention shifts towards Helena. "So, um, Rebecca," Roy begins, as the woman moves out of Clint's sightline and into -his-. "I swear, we've met somewhere before, haven't we?" Connor Hawke notes Roy's mouthed words and gives him somewhat of a pained look before he turns to Ollie at his toast. Lifting his water, he offers a quiet "Namaste" before taking a sip. He falls quiet for another moment as he watches as the meal is being served. Passing on the chili, he does take some bread. A few slow, deep breaths are taken before he asks, "Mr. Queen...uh, Ollie, I hate to take you away from the table but do you think we could speak alone for a moment?" If need be, Ollie will go around the table to dish chili out himself--until Connor tries to pull his attention, that is, at which point he gingerly sets the pot back down and gives the boy an odd lock. "I don't see why not," he replies a little warily, glancing in Roy's direction before heading away from the table to lead Connor to a patch of bare grass. "You all eat up," he calls as he walks away. "There's plenty to go around--oh!" He stops long enough to face the table. "By the way, if anyone even thinks about gettin' a shooting contest of any kind goin'..." he flashes his guests a momentary grin. "I've got boxes of equipment in there; all you've gotta do is say the word." With that, he beckons to Connor, then turns away. Being as he appears to be the... uh... well, he's the oldest guy here, once Ollie is beckoned away, Clint takes it upon himself to serve out chili. By the way? Totally not used to being the oldest guy here. Between the 90 year old super soldier, the immortal Norse god, and the angry professor? Yeah, usually not him. "If you really think any of us are going to be, y'know, able to lift our arms after eating this," he says as he ladles some chili out into Kate's and then Lian's bowls, "Sure, I guess? My bag's in the trunk of the car." He comes around and. Oh. Shit. He did not think this through. 'Rebecca' gets a watery smile before receiving some chili, and then thank god it's Roy. Hi Roy, you are now Clint's best friend. There's a slight snort as Ollie basically tells everyone where his stuff is, before Kate rolls her eyes. And yet as she's served by Clint, there's a slight nod and even a "Thanks." All though for some reason, as Ollie and Connor head to the other room, she hums... The Imperial March? Well, this probably won't go like that infamous scene (all though it probably would be in reverse, since isn't Connor the one making the admission? Anyways, odds are the teenager may have had a suspicion regarding Hele... 'Rebecca', so as Roy asks his question, she sort of tries to listen? Helena Bertinelli is looking at the chili warily when Roy speaks up and asks her a question. You know, sometimes lies are best reinforced with pieces of truth. "Um, yeah. A few months back, at an archery range somewhere near here?" She doesn't elaborate, though, let Roy fill in the blanks for himself. Instead she reaches to claim a piece of cornbread and then tries to not look as weirded out as Clint does when he has to step over near her. Great. Now she feels even WORSE. The BAT is TOTALLY to blame for this. Damnit. "Oh, um, I brought milk," she says to Roy a bit lamely, as sort of a peace offering to share with Lian. "I was warned that the chili might be... toxic?" "Attaboy, Connor," mutters Roy as he turns his attention back towards Rebecca. Thinking about it, Roy snaps his fingers. "Oh yeah, you were the one who brought that green arrow thing... except... wait, wasn't that related to..." Eyebrows arched, Roy points towards the other room. "You mean, you met -Connor- earlier? Hoy boy." There was a pause as Roy gradually realizes that the tune he's hearing is... "Katiebug? Isn't it -Darth- who tells Luke what's going on in the movie?" Palming his face, Roy sighs, slumping back, only to be jabbed by his sugared up daughter. "Daddy! DADDY! Grampa said to go ahead and shoot!" Eyes lights up, before Roy considers the food display, then Rebecca, Clint, and Kate. "Oh hell with it, let's do target practice. Unless you have the urge to have your stomach linings coming out of your butt at midnight tonight, in which case, you can stay here!" "Ewww, gross, Daddy!" Lian makes a face, before grabbing Kate's hand and trying to tug. "Come on, show them that girls are better!" Connor Hawke sets the bread down on his plate before standing and silently waiting to be guided to the more 'alone' area. There is one last glance given to Roy and Kate before he looks back to Oliver. His eyebrows raise in surprise at the mention of the shooting contest, but he knows he shouldn't be all that surprised. Another few breaths are taken as he follows the host. "This is...I'm sorry to be putting this on you now, but I've been trying to find you to talk to you before but it just hasn't happened." He shoves his hands into the pockets of his jeans, "Do you remember a woman named Sandra Moonday Hawke?" "Sandy? Sure," Ollie replies, a fond smile forming on his lips as old memories rush back to him. "Went out a few times the summer before college; nice girl." Folding his arms, he studies the man dredging up decades old romantic history for a moment, and then wariness creeps into his voice as he wonders, "I didn't--I'm not bein' served with somethin', am I?" Without waiting for Connor to answer, he turns towards the table to holler, "Roy! Your friend here isn't a process server or anything, right? The last thing I need right now's a lawsuit!" His tone is jovial, and when he looks at Connor again, he's grinning ear to ear and patting the young man's shoulder. "My PR guy'd have a fit," he adds in a more normal tone of voice. Clint's just sitting back down at his bowl of steaming hot death chili when people start getting up to have a shoot-off. "But-," he starts, and then looks down at the chili sadly. Just one bite, then. He crumbles a piece of cornbread into his bowl before spooning up a bite. One tentative sniff possibly burns some of his nostril-hairs, and he gives Arrow a dubious look. "Probably a bad idea, huh," he says, and his dog whines, putting one paw up on his leg. "So not happening." Then... he puts the spoon in his mouth. ... ... ... "Kkggghhhh," is about the noise Clint makes as the spices being their assault. He's already sweating. Face is red. It takes him nearly thirty seconds to swallow, and then he takes a long drink from his beer. He breaths deeply a few times, fanning himself... and then scoops up another bite. "That's really good." "Maybe Roy, But I can imagine it now. Connor: Do you remember Darth Vaders most infamous line from Empire? Yeah, Luke, I am and all that. Connor: Well, call me..." BUT, before she can finish that. Before she can even react to Lian trying to play the 'girls are better than boys' card. Before she even takes a moment to consider the fact that 'Rebecca' just admitted to having met Roy and Kate a few months back... Before she can think about all of that, her mind just comes to a screeching halt as she watches Clint take a bite. And as she watches how he reacts. And then how he admits it's good and goes after some more. "..." "Yeah, the ...wait, what?" Helena looks from Roy toward where Connor and Ollie went off to. "Wait, you're saying that that arrow was /Connor's/?" GOD. This is getting more confusing by the minute. When talk starts up about skipping the food and going for target practice, she looks from Roy to Lian to Kate to Clint, still looking every bit as lost and out of place as she feels. She contemplates the chili in front of her, her eyes watering a bit just from it sitting there, and if she'd been about brave enough to take a taste of the concoction, watching Clint react to it was more than proof enough that she should probably stick to the cornbread. Thus, instead of speaking up to join in the target practice, she just stays where she is and takes a small bite of the yellow starchy wonderfulness, and of course gets crumbs all over her lap. "Har har, Katiebug," mutters Roy, before he nods at Rebecca. "Yeah, it's his. Who else could it possibly be? Because... wait. How come -you-'re here anyway? You're an archer too?" Pausing in midquestioning ofHelena, Roy's eyes going up to almost his hairline (which was not receding like Ollie's, thank you) at Clint. "Don't blame me if the dog just runs away from you tonight, man." Glancing back at the kitchen, Roy is distracted by Ollie's question. "What, Connor hasn't told you yet? Goddamn it, Connor, just tell him already!" Lian, reaching for a spoon so that she can do what Clint just did, stops mid-way towards having doom enter her mouth to admonish, "Daddy, you're not supposed to swear." "Yeah? Well, hey, glad she's doin' okay!" Ollie warmly replies. "You give her my--" And then, before he can finish reacting to Connor's revelation, it actually begins to sink in; his warm wishes are terminated with a soft, thoughtful noise and that grin slides right off his face. After a moment, his mouth begins to work, but the question on his lips - 'How old did you say you were, again?' - doesn't come; instead, he clams up, studies the boy, and begins doing the sort of math that a free-spirited, oats-sowing man like himself dreads. Eighteen years, plus one rainy night, divided by three shuttered drug stores equals... "I have a..." he murmurs, looking about twenty years older than he did moments ago. He glances towards Roy, who brought Connor along - and was just yelling about telling him something, to boot - but his gaze doesn't linger there long. As he turns his eyes back to Connor, he lets out a slow, bracing breath, then gingerly lays both hands on Connor's shoulders. "Pleasure t' meet you, boy," he quietly says. The way Clint's putting chili away isn't... well, it's not a steady rate, but he's doing it, and feeding Arrow bites of cornbread inbetween. And he only looks like he's going to pass out once or twice, too. He definitely needs another beer, though. Actually, scratch that, he switches to milk. "I'm definitely going to need this recipe," he says before taking another bite. While a joke about this recipe possibly being weaponized could be made, the truth is that Kate hasn't started trying to eat this chili. Unlike Clint On the other hand, since there's no shouts or sounds of violence from where Connor and Ollie are... The teenager finally collects herself, before she glances over at Lian. "All right, I guess we should start shooting..." All though /then/ she lets her gaze drift over towards Helena. "You shooting as well? I dunno what Ollie has, but if need be I might have a few things besides bows and arrows in my car." Like a mini-crossbow. And a sword or two. And a staff. And... Well, lets not say what weapons Kate keeps in her car, okay? "And Roy, this time no trick arrows." Helena Bertinelli actually looks honestly surprised when Kate includes her in the target practice. Maybe she's accustomed to being dismissed by others? Damnit, Bat, you see what happens when you treat people like shit? THey start BELIEVING it. After a second she shrugs a bit at Kate's offer, still picking at her piece of cornbread. Why the HELL did HAL insist she be here? This is worse than getting lectured at by the Bat. She'd almost even prefer that Ghost asshole talk down at her again. The lack of commentary from Helena has Roy throw up his arms. "Well fine. So you're here because you're a friend of Ollie's, and you can shoot. C'mon. Let's get you something and then we'll see how well you shoot. I think, uh, Connor and Ollie's got some things to go over, and Clint... Clint, you can have my share. Just don't complain to me if it comes out faster then the way it went in." "Ewww, Daddy." Lian reaches out to grab ahold of Arrow, trying to clutch it to her chest. "Can we keep the dog safe, Daddy?" "Yeah, we should, the poor dog would be climbing the walls to stay away from..." Picking up a spoon and poking through the chili, Roy turns it over to see what chili peppers is in it. "... what did the old man put in this now? Habernos?" Connor Hawke may actually have held his breath while Oliver figured it all out. At the touch on his shoulders, that breath is finally let out and he manages, "It's an honor to finally meet you." There's a brief moment before he tried to offer some reassurance, "I don't want anything from you...I'm not trying to get anything out of you, just so you know. I just...wanted to finally meet you." There's a quick glance to the others, "I'm sorry if I ruined your party." "Forget all that; the party's fine," Ollie quickly assures, sliding an arm around Connor's shoulders to lead him back to the table. Now that the initial shock has passed, that mile-wide grin is returning. "It's just beginnin'! We've got catchin' up to do; c'mon, we'll do it over dinner, and then we'll keep on doin' it while I show these kids what real target-shootin' looks like." Nevermind that Clint is all of five years younger than he is. "Sorry about that, folks," he says when the two are back at the table. "Connor and I had to have a little talk--" He glances over at the young man, and somehow, his grin grows even wider. "Just a little father-son thing." Category:Log